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Post by luke on Jun 28, 2006 12:27:20 GMT -5
Totally copped yet another thread from DVDVR, but turned it into a poll and made some improvements.
I was going to title it after the original, which is "Biggest Artist...", but then Robbie Williams seroiusly crushes the competition by default, with Take That running a close second.
Of course, the Stone Roses are just as dominant in a "Best" sense, but hey, I'm interested in the responses from the combo of fogeys, 90s kids, Brits, and combos thereof that we've got here.
Plenty of bands not on this poll, feel free to point them out. Nixed Happy Mondays because I figured anyone who may vote for them would vote for Stone Roses instead.
EDIT: It's implied that the artist DID make it in the UK, but I'm hoping you can figure that out, being that no one here is fucking retarded.
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Post by Kensterberg on Jun 28, 2006 12:48:18 GMT -5
Excellent poll, Luke.
For me, the winner here is obvious: Woking's finest trio, the Jam. Critically acclaimed, hugely succesful on the UK charts, and enormously influential on a generation or more of UK musicians, but never able to get on more than the periphery of the US music scene. There's no good reason why the band didn't score at least a handful of US hits -- Start!, Town Called Malice, Going Underground, The Bitterest Pill, Beat Surrender ... all of these would have fit right into what was being played on the radio at the time.
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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Jun 28, 2006 12:50:03 GMT -5
That's a tough choice. I remember Rob Sheffield (is that his name? Rolling Stone?) saying that there would always be bands in the UK that don't translate and vice versa. His prime example was Muse, who he said we Brits were welcome to keep because shit like that would never catch on in the US.
So if Sheffield's right I'd say Muse right now.
But from the list above obviously Stone Roses, though Pulp were also a truly great band at times.
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Post by luke on Jun 28, 2006 12:51:05 GMT -5
Yep- I figured if anyone on this poll was going to give the Stone Roses some competition, it's The Jam.
JLLM mentioned the Verve just now on Now Playing, and I'm wondering if I should have added them or if that one hit was just too huge to call them a bust Stateside.
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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Jun 28, 2006 12:51:24 GMT -5
And why on earth didn't Madness get a string of US hits? We went out and bought Hall & Oates over here. Well, a little bit, anyway.
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Post by luke on Jun 28, 2006 12:53:28 GMT -5
That's a tough choice. I remember Rob Sheffield (is that his name? Rolling Stone?) saying that there would always be bands in the UK that don't translate and vice versa. His prime example was Muse, who he said we Brits were welcome to keep because shit like that would never catch on in the US. So if Sheffield's right I'd say Muse right now. But from the list above obviously Stone Roses, though Pulp were also a truly great band at times. I debated throwing in Muse, but I'm not sure if I'd rate them as a bust in the U.S. just yet. Locally, "Time is Running Out" tore up the request charts on alternative Clear Channel stations here for weeks, and I can't see "Supermassive Black Hole" getting too ignored by the radio. Think it's still up in the air on those guys. |
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Post by luke on Jun 28, 2006 12:56:09 GMT -5
And I hate to throw Muse in this category because they obviously aren't, but a lot of their stuff is all but tailor made for the Fall Out Boy/Avenged Sevenfold Hot Topic crowd. I can see many a Muse hoodied teenage poseur smoking in front of the local shopping mall in the near future.
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Post by Kensterberg on Jun 28, 2006 12:57:12 GMT -5
And why on earth didn't Madness get a string of US hits? We went out and bought Hall & Oates over here. Well, a little bit, anyway. Why didn't Madness have a bunch of US hits? I dunno ... Our House was a pretty good sized hit, and It Must Be Love got some notice, but that's where it stopped. Keep Moving was an excellent record, but nobody buy me and my roommate bought it here in the States. And after that, well, they were done. I could've seen either Stone Roses or Pulp for this as well, but the former always had a pretty good sized US cult following, and the latter, well, I just think the Jam were better, bigger, and more influential. |
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Post by riley on Jun 28, 2006 12:57:44 GMT -5
I love Stone Roses, but I'm torn between Suede and Pulp on this one. The La's would be another candidate, but with one album, I'm not sure they could match up with this lot.
Pulp have had a more consistent career, especially where Suede were really best when Bernard Butler was in the band, but for those first two albums (and some of Sci-Fi Lullabies) Suede were as good as any band in the UK for my money.
May need to flip a coin on this one.
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Post by Paul on Jun 28, 2006 12:58:22 GMT -5
I'm not very familiar w/ a lot of those bands, kinda like know a Cliff Notes version of each one...but from what I've heard, my vote goes to The Jam.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Jun 28, 2006 12:59:48 GMT -5
Let me be the first to put a vote in for Pulp then.
I'd almost say that James should be on that list, too. Although, they may have actually had more success in the States with Laid than Pulp did with either Different Class or the "Common People" single.
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Post by Paul on Jun 28, 2006 13:01:27 GMT -5
I'm not very familiar w/ a lot of those bands, kinda like know a Cliff Notes version of each one...but from what I've heard, my vote goes to The Jam. I take this post back...I have no clue as to who Mott the Hoople is. What do they sound like? |
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Post by luke on Jun 28, 2006 13:01:45 GMT -5
The La's I considered, but between the one pseudo-hit they had here, having one album, and my stupid ass forgetting that there was a "display more answer fields" button, they didn't make it.
James more successful than Pulp in the US? Hmm...
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Post by Dr. Drum on Jun 28, 2006 13:05:57 GMT -5
James more successful than Pulp in the US? Hmm... Yeah, I'm honestly not sure either, but they did do a lot of touring in the States in the mid to late 90s. |
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Post by riley on Jun 28, 2006 13:10:01 GMT -5
I would put James almost on par with Pulp in terms of US popularity. Having the song "Laid" on the American Pie soundtrack (or sequel maybe?) would certainly at least mean some people have heard them. James were a little more all over the map than Pulp, but had some absolutely fantastic albums. Laid itself is pretty much a flawless album.
It's funny that most of these bands actually did "make it" to some extent in Canada. There's always seemed to be a better market for the UK sound in Canada than the US. Still holds true to some degree. Never been able to figure out exactly why.
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